


Spectral Hindsight

by ludolefebvre



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, Ghosts, M/M, Mild Language, Multi, Multiship, Paranormal, ghost!fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-04-29 03:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5113958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ludolefebvre/pseuds/ludolefebvre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mathias and his mother move into the town of Bruce Mines, and Mathias is determined to have the best time of his life. He'll have lots of friends, good grades, maybe even get a job. Of course, he doesn't bargain on his English teacher hating him, being friends with a drug dealer and a cheerleader, or a ghost living under his bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This is the first fic I've written for Hetalia, and the first fic I've written at all in six years. Let me know what you think!  
> P.S. Yes, the chapters will get longer from here.

“Are we there yet?” Mathias flopped across the backseat in total boredom, an arm slung across his forehead. You could only reread the Harry Potter books so many times in a week before you went bonkers.

 

“No, son. Now sit up straight, that seatbelt will do nothing in an accident if you're laying down like that,” his mom admonished.

 

Mathias whined and sat up. “I'm bored.”

 

“Have a nap, then. We're only two hours away.”

 

Two hours until he could get out of this muggy, sweaty car and fix his fucked-up hair. That ... actually wasn't so bad. Mathias crossed his arms and leaned his head back against his seat, closing his eyes. He didn't think he slept, but when his eyes opened, the moon was out and the car was stopped in a gravel driveway.

 

“Mathias,” his mother was turned around in the driver's seat, smirking at him expectantly.

 

He grinned and shouted, “Are we there yet, mom?!”

 

“Yes.” Debra high-fived her teenaged son and prayed that the move would be for the better.

 

* * *

 

“Mom, what did you even pack?” the teenager groaned, hefting a rubbermaid tub over the threshold of their new house. “'Cause if I open this thing and don't see at least twelve elephants, I'm gonna be surprised.”

 

“Just put it down over there.” Debra was busy trying to figure out where they'd packed the blankets. The moving vans containing their furniture wouldn't be coming until tomorrow.

 

“Can I go see my room now?”

 

“We should really get everything in the house before it starts to rain-” she turned around and saw her son giving her the biggest set of puppy dog eyes she'd seen since he had wanted to stop for ice cream the day before. “... Alright, try to be quick, though. It's downstairs, off the rec room.”

 

“Okay!” Mathias thundered down the stairs gleefully.

 

The rec room mostly finished, and honestly rather pleasant-looking, with patio doors that opened out onto the sloping green of the suburban backyard. However, the young man paid it no mind as he opened the door to what must surely be his room- nope, furnace room. The second door he opened hit the mark- an average-sized bedroom painted in a pale shade of blue with purple trim. Mathias paced around his new room excitedly, mentally placing his furniture in it. Should his bed go below the small window or across from it? Then his dresser could go-- no, that would cover up that electrical outlet that he'd need for his TV. Wait, maybe his TV could go in the rec room! It's not like anyone else was using the space- he could make a cool gaming den and invite friends over--

 

“Mathias? How's the room?” He heard his mother coming down the stairs.

 

“It's pretty sweet!” He called back, poking his head out of the bedroom doorway. “Mom, do you think I could put my Xbox and stuff in the rec room?”

 

“Hmm...” Debra stood in the centre of the rec room, spinning around slowly. “If you can figure out where the blankets disappeared to, I'll consider it.”

 

“Okay!” her son exclaimed, carting his lanky self back up the stairs in search of the duffel bag he knew he'd packed them in.

* * *

 

Mother and son were sitting on the polished hardwood of the living room, slurping from takeout containers as raindrops pattered against the picture window. After he'd had his fill of dinner, Mathias amused himself by picking the peas out of the chicken fried rice and using a spoon to catapult them across the room into a greasy cardboard box. His mother allowed it, and actually cheered when he finally managed to land one of his projectiles into the carton.

 

“So, the movers are definitely gonna have the stuff here by tomorrow?”  
  


“If they do, they do,” Debra responded.

 

“ _Mom_. Don't do that.”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Parent-speak. It's infuriating.” Mathias sighed.

 

“Hm,” his mother smirked, chewing a mouthful of egg roll. “That's a big word. Have you ever thought of applying to Harvard?”

 

Mathias crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out. “Shut up. I'm smart.”

 

“I know, that came from me.” Debra smiled, her face then turning serious. “You promise you'll do your best in school? I know the move is shaking things up a bit, and you're going to want to make new friends and go out, and- you can always come to me if you need help with anything-”

 

“Mom.” Mathias reached over and took his mother's hand. “I know. Everything's going to be great.”

 

Debra smiled at her son and sighed, releasing her nerves. “It will be.”

 

Mathias grinned back, glancing around the room. “I mean, once we get some actual furniture...”

 

He laughed gleefully as a pillow hit him in the face.

 

Everything was going to be great.


	2. Chapter Two

The house was mostly set up by the next evening, furniture all reassembled and some essentials like dishes, clothing and toiletries unpacked. Mathias was setting up his bookshelf- he couldn't decide whether he wanted his books to be ordered by author or subject. And what about the series? He was stumped, so he just left them in a stack on the floor and moved onto something else that would hopefully not be so taxing on his brain.

 

He was almost done hanging up his posters when his mom came into his room.

 

“I set up the internet router.”

 

“Finally!” Mathias exclaimed, muffled by a mouth full of push-pins. He spat them into his palm, ignoring the mildly disapproving look that earned from his mom. He used his free hand to pull out his cell phone. “What's the password?”

 

“Your first words.”

 

“Dump truck?”

 

His mother shrugged. “Who else would guess it?”

 

“You have a point,” Mathias mused, tapping “dumptruck” into his phone and accessing the wifi. “Thanks, mom. Everything going okay up there?”

 

“The coffee table got scratched a little, but otherwise we're all set.”

 

“Hmm...” Mathias pinned the corner of a Hulk poster to the wall. “Maybe you could cover the scratches with brown nail polish and sand it down a little. I think I read that on pinterest.”

 

“Huh,” his mother crossed her arms. “I'll have to try it. Want to go out when you're done with this? There's a nice walking trail not too far from here.”

 

“Sounds awesome, I'll just be a minute.” Mathias smiled.

* * *

 

The walk was enjoyable. Mathias reveled in the fresh air and even got some nice pictures of the sunset. Back in the house, he figured he'd try again at organizing his books. When he entered his room, however, he paused.

 

His books were arranged in several piles throughout the room, some even laying open on the floor. Mathias furrowed his brows and bent down to pick up his book on famous unsolved mysteries, scanning the chapter it was open to- “Mysterious Disappearances”. He shrugged, closing the book, and examined the organized state of chaos his personal library now inexplicably lay in. The boy sighed and began to organize the books onto his shelves- having decided on series arranged on the top two shelves, and miscellaneous books by subject matter on the bottom two.

 

After a long while- once every few books he'd stop to read a few chapters of an old beloved favourite- he stood back and admired his work. Satisfied, he sat on his bed and pulled out his phone, but he had been looking at the screen not even three seconds when he heard a thud, which caused him to startle and look up. One of his books had fallen off the shelf.

 

Frowning, he slid off his bed and picked it up. It was the same book that had been laying open before, but falling onto the floor had opened it to a different chapter this time. He glanced at the heading, “Inexplicable Phenomena”, shrugged and put the book back in its place on the shelf.

* * *

 

Mathias didn't really want to go to sleep, but he laid down anyway and examined the shapes cast on his ceiling by the moonlight. That was only interesting for so long, however, and he soon pulled out his cell phone from under his pillow and browsed a couple of apps. He hadn't updated his instagram since he'd been in the new house, but now that they finally had their internet router set up... Mathias hummed pleasantly as he went through his camera roll, swiping through picture after picture that he'd taken of the new place. He eventually settled on an upwards shot of the splintery staircase to the attic, figuring it was just the right balance between artsy and creepy.

 

He fidgeted in his bed as he applied filters and changed the lighting and contrast to his whims. There was a shadow in the corner of the picture that interested him, it sort of looked like a silhouette. He spent a few moments fiddling with the settings, trying to bring it out, before he shrugged and posted the picture anyway.

 

Mathias turned on his side and refreshed for a couple of minutes, waiting for the likes to flood in. He gained three in that time, and figured most of his friends were asleep, so he shut off his phone and shoved it back under his pillow. He laid back once more, utterly bored.

 

The general silence was unsettling, only the occasional train whistle off in the distance, and the buzz of insects. Mathias tapped his fingers against his thigh and counted sheep until he felt his eyes would roll back in his head. He heard an owl hoot, softly at first, then a bit louder. Eager for something to distract his wide-awake brain, Mathias crawled out of bed and padded over to his window, getting on his tiptoes and craning his neck to either side in hopes of seeing the creature.

 

He saw nothing, and sighed through his nose in frustration, especially as the hooting got louder and longer. He shuffled back to his bed and paused- the noise was louder over here than by the window. And while at first he had assumed the sound to be a bird, it was now more of a continuous, mournful croak. Mathias sat back down on his bed and furrowed his brow, confused and a bit unsettled. The noise petered off, Mathias straining to hear it. He laid down again, sleep overtaking him after a long bout of tossing.

* * *

 

One of the handful of things Mathias liked about this town was that he could ride his bike pretty well wherever he pleased. Not only that, but since the town was a lot smaller than his old home city, he could get from place to place in no time. He smiled, thinking about all the cool parties and sleepovers he'd go to once he'd made a couple friends in school. But for now, he was just riding around, getting to know the streets a bit better. Occasionally the soft spring ground made for a muddy ride, but he went with it. He wasn't wearing his nice sneakers anyway.

 

He coasted through a mud puddle, so intent on examining this park's foliage that he failed to notice he'd splashed someone until he heard a grunt of shock and chagrin. Mathias slammed on the brakes and turned around.

 

The poor schmuck was covered in muddy water. His pants, his glasses, his hair, and the book of crosswords he'd been completing. Mathias stuttered out an apology, trying not to laugh- he knew the guy must think him a total douchebag already.

 

“Dude! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you with-” he was cut short as the man took off his glasses and fixed Mathias with a glare that should have turned him to stone. “Um...” he tried again weakly, “I'm really... sorry?”

 

The man huffed and set his puzzle book beside him, getting to work on cleaning his glasses with his shirt. Mathias climbed off his bike, determined to not make any enemies in this place before he'd even started school.

 

“Yikes, I made a real mess of your stuff, hey?” he laughed awkwardly. “Let me just-” he picked up the book of crosswords by the spine and shook it to try and get some of the mud off. As soon as he started shaking, though, a piece of folded paper fell out of the book and right into the puddle.

 

“Aw, fuck!” Mathias bent down to pick it up- the paper looked quite old and worn, and was probably ruined- and when he straightened back up, he was fixed with a cold stare from the man. “Um... sorry. Again...”

 

The man snatched the paper from Mathias' fingers, put his smudged glasses back on, gathered his things and walked off with a scowl.

 

Mathias blinked and climbed back onto his bike. So much for making friends! He shook his head, trying to brush off the irritation he felt at the man's rudeness.

* * *

It was his first day at the only high school the town of Bruce Mines boasted, and so far he'd survived all of the “this is our new student” introductions in his classes, with quite a bit of grace, he might add. Heck, he was adjusting to his new school rather well, he thought. He'd only gotten lost once- it wasn't exactly a big school, so even that had been a bit of a feat- and at least two people had smiled back at him. This school thing was going to be a breeze.

 

He was certain of this until he heard whispers behind him while sitting in his last class. Mathias ignored them for a few minutes, until they got so distracting that he could barely pay attention to the teacher. He turned around to see what the fuss was- and the whispers stopped abruptly. His classmates quickly tried to act like they'd been quiet the whole time, awkwardly staring at their notebooks or the ceiling. Mathias felt a pang of trepidation in his stomach. They'd been whispering about him. He didn't know why that bothered him so much, but it did. He hastily swallowed the lump forming in his throat and turned back around in his seat, his freckled cheeks burning in embarrassment.

 

When school finally let out, he rushed out to the parking lot, eager to find his bus and just go home. 852... 852 ... where was it? He weaved in and out of the idling yellow buses until he spotted the one that would take him to his house. Mathias climbed the steps up onto the bus and started down the aisle, only to find that every seat was taken. He froze, eyes darting around, hoping there was an empty seat he'd neglected to spot.

 

The bus driver, a woman with fluffy hair pulled back in a severe ponytail, made a disparaging noise in her throat. Mathias jolted a little and sat down in the nearest seat that wasn't covered by a backpack or purse. He mumbled an apology as the boy already occupying the seat took out one of his earbuds with a quizzical look.

 

“Seats were all taken.”

 

The bus pulled out of the parking lot, and the students began to chatter. The boy furrowed his brow. “No, it's not that. I don't think I've seen you on this bus before.. or at school, for that matter. Wait, are you in grade ten? I don't usually pay much attention to people in grades below me. Not to say that you look younger than me- actually, you look older than me, which is why I'm asking-”

 

“I just moved here,” Mathias explained, to spare the boy his breath.

 

“Oh!” The boy said brightly. “Well, it's nice to meet you! I'm Tino.”

 

“Mathias.” he smiled and stuck out his hand. Tino shook it, his hands soft and a little clammy. “Nice to meet you too.”

  
  
Tino grinned. “So, you're new to Lockerby! How are you liking it? Have you joined any clubs yet? You look like you could play sports-”

  
  
“It's my first day,” Mathias cut him off again. “I haven't really had the chance to do much of anything... are you in any clubs?” Conversation wasn't coming to him as easily as it always did, but this Tino seemed pretty friendly, and Mathias was pretty desperate for a friend.

 

“You betcha! You're looking at co-head cheerleader and chief yearbook editor!” Tino puffed out his chest proudly, a comical sight in his duckling-yellow sweater vest.

 

“Cheerleading? That's pretty cool.” Mathias smiled encouragingly.

 

“You think so?” Tino gushed. “Most people make fun of me for it, because I'm, well, a guy.”

 

“No, I think it's great. Everyone should be able to do what they like, y'know?”

 

“Yeah.” Tino smiled. “What do you like to do? Were you in any clubs at your old school?”

 

“I was on the swim team. And I did musical theater for a year, it was a lot of fun.”

 

Tino suddenly started rummaging through his bag. “Awesome! We don't have a swim team here, but...” he moved a couple binders and a laptop aside. “Here! I've got the auditions sheet for the musical.” He pulled out a very crumpled, dog-eared piece of paper triumphantly.

 

“Thanks,” Mathias said, taking the mint-green slip of paper, trying to avoid touching the crushed Skittle on the one corner. “I'll definitely check it out. Were you thinking of auditioning?”

 

“Eh, maybe,” Tino replied. “Cheer kind of takes up my schedule, though, and musicals are a LOT of work. Line runs, blocking, choreography, lighting... and you've gotta be there for all of it even if you're just an extra.” He shrugged.

 

“Good point,” Mathias mused. The bus stopped and a tall bespectacled man in a blue trench coat marched stiffly down the aisle, getting off the bus. Mathias recognized him from an earlier encounter.

 

“Hey!” he said, nudging Tino and bringing his attention to the man who was walking off down the street. “ _He_ goes to our school?”

 

“What?” Tino blinked. “Oh, yeah, that's Berwald. He's a senior.”  


“Jesus, I figured he was like, thirty.” The bus continued on its route.

 

“Nope.” Tino raised his eyebrows. “He's just taking a victory lap. I think he's eighteen...”

 

“Huh.” Mathias sat back. “Weird. I met him at the park- well, sorta. He was sitting there doing crosswords or something like an old bat.”

 

“I guess he's just a little different, I don't know. He doesn't talk much.” Tino shrugged.

 

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before getting off the bus at the same stop.

 

“Hey, you live on Maple, too?” Mathias asked.

 

“No, just around the corner on Lakewood! You should come hang out sometime.” Tino grinned and started off to his house.

 

“I'll add you on facebook!” Mathias yelled to the departing Tino. He set off down the street, feeling an immense sense of relief.

 

Maybe making friends wouldn't be so hard after all?

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting somewhere!

The noise started up again three nights later, and two more after that. It was starting to drive Mathias nuts. He complained to his mom, suggesting that maybe the furnace needed a tune-up, but all she did was shrug and offer to get him some earplugs the next time she went grocery shopping.

 

It was night again, and Mathias was trying to get to sleep before the mysterious racket started up again. Unfortunately, he was wide awake despite getting a distinctly small amount of sleep the past few days. He scrolled through his Facebook feed on his phone, hoping that the mundane, vaguely racist statuses of his distant relatives and grade-school acquaintences would lull him into a coma.

 

_Hoooooooooh._

_H-h-h-ohhhhhh._

 

Mathias cringed and froze, the sound right in his ear like a mosquito. He gulped and slowly sat up, looking around him for anything that could possibly be making a noise, and found nothing. His bedframe rattled slightly and he flinched hard. Okay, he'd admit that he was pretty freaked out.

 

The teen jumped off his bed and backed towards the door, shaking slightly. A feeling in the pit of his stomach let him know that something wasn't right. Maybe he should sleep in the bathroom... but he couldn't move. He stood there, frozen, feet cold on the floorboards.

 

The groaning faded to what sounded like a soft whimper. What the hell...? Mathias made a split-second decision and approached the bed quickly, crouching down and lifting up the bedskirt, determined to find out once and for all what was keeping him up at night.

 

What he saw made him yelp in shock. He was glad his mom was still out or she might have come running. There was ... a person, laying under his bed.

 

“What- _wha- what the fuck?!_ ” Mathias choked and jumped back. He screamed as a hand crept out from beneath the bedskirt. Fuck, what should he do? All he could think of, pathetically, was to run and hide in his closet.

 

He sat, quaking with fear, in the bottom of his closet. Bile was rising in his throat as he held the door shut with all of his might.. This couldn't be real, oh god, the urban legends were true and there was an axe murderer hiding under his bed!

 

What happened next made him just about piss his pants.

 

The door of Mathias' closet was flung open effortlessly.

 

“Hello.” A sullen-looking boy stood, flickering, in front of him, dressed in shabby winter clothing. “I see I've scared you.”

 

Mathias shook and opened his mouth to yell some more, but instead his body chose to vomit on the floor and pass out.

* * *

 

 

“Matt...” Someone was gently calling his name. “Mattie, are you awake?”

 

Mathias first registered something warm and wet on his face and his hands flew up to see what it was- a washcloth. He cracked open his eyes.

  
“Mom...”

 

“How are you feeling, honey?”

 

“Um...” He had a wicked headache and his mouth felt dry and bitter. “Can I... can I have a glass of water?”

 

“I'll get you one in a minute. What happened? I came home late and when I came down to check on you, you were out cold in a puddle of puke. I had to drag you to the shower.” Her tone indicated that this wasn't something she wanted to get used to.

 

“I... I dunno...”

 

She frowned suddenly. “You weren't doing drugs, were you?”

 

“Mom.” he groaned. “ _No._ I must just be dehydrated.”

 

“Well, you're staying home today. I've called the school. Get some rest, I'll be back with your water in a minute.” She stood and left the room.

 

Mathias rolled over, slowly remembering why he'd passed out. He froze and his eyes darted across the room. What _had_  happened?

 

After his mom brought him some water, he sipped and surmised that it must have been some sort of lucid dream. He was probably overtired, and worried about the move. That was all there was to it. No people under his bed, no faces going through doors. Maybe he was sick after all.

 

He bundled himself up in his sheets and listened to his mom getting ready for work upstairs. When he heard the front door close and her car drive away, he got out of bed in search of some breakfast.  

* * *

 

He supposed he could make toast, but what he was really hankering for was something sweet. He moved things around in the cramped fridge, looking for something to satisfy his hunger. Score! There was a plastic container of raspberries and a tub of yogurt hiding behind the milk. He grabbed them, along with a bowl and a spoon and made his way over to the table.

 

Mathias mixed the berries into his bowl and began shovelling yogurt into his mouth. On the fourth spoonful, he suddenly shuddered, hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Yeah, he must be getting the flu.

 

He finished his breakfast rather quickly. As he stood back up and headed to the sink to rinse his dishes, he sensed something behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw something quickly move past the entrance to the sitting room. Startled, he dropped his dishes into the sink with a clatter.

 

Shit, was there someone in the house? He slowly opened the cutlery drawer and grabbed the largest, sharpest knife he saw. Mathias crept towards the doorway, hating that he shook slightly. Taking a deep breath and tightening his grip on the knife, he stepped into the living room and whipped his head around. The room was empty.

 

Mathias let out his breath, letting his muscles relax and his arms fall to his sides. He felt a bit silly for panicking. He did a quick check behind the couches- just in case- and went to return the knife to its drawer.

 

_Thump-thump-thump._

 

He gulped, freezing. He couldn't be imagining footsteps, too, could he?   
  
_Thump-thump._  
  
  
They were getting closer. Mathias ran back into the living room, grabbing the phone off the hook and crouching down beside the couch.  
  
_Thump-thump-thump._   
  
  
He had pressed the 9 and 1 buttons with shaking, cold fingers when the footsteps stopped. Ever so slowly, Mathias poked his head up over the armrest of the couch. There was a boy standing in the doorway. Trying not to squeak, he quickly ducked back down.

 

“I know you're there.” 

 

Oh god,  _oh god. Fuck._

 

“Who's there?!” he barked, squeezing his eyes shut.  
  
  
He felt a warmth pressing on the top of his head and jumped. The boy was sitting on his couch, and resting a hand on Mathias' head. Mathias struck out wildly with his knife, adrenaline coursing through his tense body. He screamed when the knife seemed to go right through the boy and straight into the cushion.   
  
  
  
Mathias sprung up, quaking. He couldn't believe his eyes. He opened his mouth to scream again when the stranger interrupted him.  
  
  
  
“Could you stop that? Seriously... so noisy.” The boy frowned. Mathias held the knife in front of him.  
  
  
  
“Who are you?! How did you get into my house?!”   
  
  
  
The boy looked offended, crossing his arms. “Um, I was here before you, so I think it's my house... you can put the knife back. It's not going to do anything.”  
  
  
  
Mathias gulped. “I ... get out. I don't know who you are, but you're not supposed to be here.”  
  
  
  
“I've tried to leave. I can't.”  
  
  
  
Mathias was perplexed. “You... you can't? Just- _what_ are you?”  
  
  
  
“Well,” the boy swung his legs up and stretched across the couch, “I think I'm dead.”  
  


 


	4. Chapter 4

 Mathias stared down at the boy on his couch. He looked to be about fifteen, was dressed unseasonably for fall, and wore an unimpressed look on his elegant face.

  
  
He wasn't sure he'd heard right.

  
  
“You're ... dead?”

  
  
“Well, I think so.”

  
  
Mathias gulped, lowering his arms from their defensive stance. “So you're... what? A _ghost?_ ”

  
  
“Presumably.” the boy shrugged.

  
  
“I...” Mathias' head was spinning a bit. “Okay...?”

  
  
There were a few moments of silence as the two stared at each other.

  
  
“I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm Ari.” Ari clasped his hands together in his lap.

  
  
“I'm, uh, Mathias...” Mathias gently placed his knife down on the coffee table. “So... um... you've been here the whole time...?”

  
  
“Pretty much.”

  
  
“Why? I mean-”

  
  
Ari interrupted him with a short, derisive laugh. “I wish I knew. Your guess is as good as mine.”

  
  
“Well...” Mathias sat down on the cold floor. “Ghosts usually have some sort of ... unfinished business..”

  
  
Ari spared him a glance. “I guess. Maybe.”

  
  
The two were silent for a while. Mathias couldn't take his eyes off of Ari's form. He looked fairly solid- both in constitution and stature- but occasionally his image would flicker or weaken.

  
  
Mathias broke the silence. “How did you die?”

  
  
Ari whipped his head over to fix Mathias with a hard, disapproving glare. “ _Really?”_ he snapped. “ _That's_ what you want to know? That's kind of personal, buddy, I mean, I may be a ghost but I've got feelings too. Why not ask me my favourite colour, or something? _No,_ instead you ask how I _died._ ”

  
  
Mathias raised his eyebrows. “Touchy...” he muttered.

  
  
Ari tightened his crossed arms and went back to staring straight ahead, anger still present on his pale face. He was silent for a while before muttering softly.

  
  
“I don't know.”

  
  
“What?”

  
  
_“I don't know_.” Ari swung his feet onto the floor. “I don't know how I died.”

  
  
“How can you not know?” Mathias' face contorted in confusion.

  
  
“I...” Ari gesticulated with his hands, “I just... I don't. I can't remember. I can't remember anything at all, actually.” A look of mild sadness crossed his face.

  
  
“You mean you don't remember your life, either?”

  
  
“No, I don't.” Ari rested his chin in his hand. “As far as I know, I just woke up here one day, couldn't talk to anyone, no one could see me, I couldn't leave the house... and I couldn't remember anything but my first name.”

  
  
“Not your family, or-”

  
  
“Nothing.” Ari pursed his lips, looking frustrated.

  
  
“Hey!” Mathias exclaimed brightly, pointing at Ari. “That must be your unfinished business, then! You just need to figure out who you were, and how you died, and then you can rest in peace!”

  
  
“Maybe...” Ari looked skeptical.

  
  
“Well then, I can help you! I can... um... I don't know. You must have lived here at some point, or else you _died_ here...” Mathias shuddered at the thought of someone having died in his house. “We can do some research and help you remember!”

  
  
“You don't need to go through all that trouble,” Ari said reluctantly.

  
  
“No, it's no trouble! It'll be fun! And, like- no offense, but, having a ghost in my house, watching me in the shower, is _kinda_ creepy.”

  
  
Ari's face went red. “I _don't_ \-- I don't watch you _shower_ -!”

  
  
“Then you're missing out. I'm kinda gorgeous.” Mathias smirked.

  
  
“You're flirting with a dead guy, you complete tool.”

  
  
“Hey,” Mathias shrugged, “I don't really know that many people around here yet. I'll take what I can get.”

  
  
Ari scoffed at him, but smiled to himself when he thought Mathias wasn't looking.

  
  
Alright, so his house was haunted. Things could be worse, Mathias figured, but he was going to have to stop sleeping in the buff.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Finals are just about over, so I'm back to updating this fic! Hope you guys enjoy!

Mathias was sitting on his bed, bundled up in a fluffy red blanket. Ari sat across from him.  
  
  
“So. What's it like being a ghost? Like, what can you do?”  
  
  
Ari sighed. “Uh... well, I can talk. And move stuff. It's pretty novel, actually,” he said sardonically.   
  
  
“And I can see you,” Mathias said, ignoring the other boy's attitude.  
  
  
“That's only because I'm feeding off of your energy. It's actually harder to be visible than invisible.”  
  
  
“Wait.” Mathias looked alarmed. “You're... you're sucking my life force?”  
  
  
“Well, if you want to put it that way. You're kind of... energetic, though, so it shouldn't have much of an effect on you.”  
  
  
Mathias relaxed a little bit. “I've been told I'm very boisterous.”  
  
  
“You really are. We're completely unalike.”  
  
  
“No, no,” Mathias frowned, “Not necessarily so. I mean, we both live here. That's something we have in common.”  
  
  
Ari rolled his eyes.   
  
  
“And... don't you like to read? You went through all my books, didn't you?”  
  
  
“That was...” Ari looked bashful. “That was more me trying to reach out. But yes, I do like to read.”  
  
  
“Well, you can read my books all you want! It must get kind of boring, being stuck in here. I can even go get new ones, I bet tons of good books have come out since you-”  
  
  
Ari gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look.  
  
  
“Oops. Too soon?”  
  
  
Ari sighed, smiling a little. “I'm just bugging you. It's okay. I'm not going to have you pretend I'm alive or anything.”  
  
  
Mathias sat in silence for a second, thinking. “Hey. I just thought of a plus to having no memories!”  
  
  
“Oh, really?” Ari looked slightly unconvinced.   
  
  
“Yeah. You get to watch all your favourite movies again like it's the first time!”  
  
  
Ari considered that. “But I can't even remember what my favourite movies are.”  
  
  
“Well then, it's time for a marathon!” Mathias scrambled off of his bed, blanket draped around his shoulders like a cape. “You seem like the kind of guy who likes Tim Burton, no offense...”  
  
  
  


  
Mathias was woken up from his nap by an angry Debra.   
  
  
“Mathias. Mathias, answer me!”  
  
  
“Muhh?” He rolled over slowly.  
  
  
“Mathias, pray tell why the couch has a humongous rip in it?”  
  
  
Mathias was perplexed for a second until the memory dawned on him. Oh crap, he had stabbed the couch.   
  
  
“Um... I..”  
  
  
His mother looked at him expectantly, hands on her hips. He decided to tell the truth... mostly.  
  
  
“I thought someone was in the house... I grabbed the knife and it cut the couch when I went to hide behind it.”  
  
  
Mathias' mom looked skeptical, but pursed her lips in sympathy. “And are you alright?”  
  
  
“Yeah.” Mathias let out a breath.  
  
  
“Well, then you'll have no problem fixing the couch.”  
  
  
Mathias groaned softly. “Alright.”  
  
  
“You're feeling better, though? Other than that incident, you got rest? If I find out you spent all day on the Xbox-”  
  
  
“Mom.” Mathias sighed. “Didn't even touch it today. And I'm feeling better. I'll go to school tomorrow.”  
  
  
“No, you won't.” His mom smirked.  
  
  
“What?”  
  
  
“Tomorrow's Saturday, dummy. Now come on, I made dinner a while ago but I wanted you to get your rest, so yours is in the fridge.”  
  
  
“Thanks, mom.”  
  
  
  


  
  
  
Mathias had almost hoped Ari would come back to talk to him again that evening, if only because it put him on edge not knowing where he was. However, his night was uneventful. Mathias had thought he'd be up all night thinking, but the whole ordeal of the day must have tuckered him out, because he was asleep soon after hitting the pillow.  
  
  
He woke up to a surprisingly sunny Saturday. Mathias was excited- today he'd start trying to research things for Ari. The library must hold archives or something. He'd start there.   
  
  
He bid goodmorning and goodbye to his mom, hopped on his bike and went on his merry way. As soon as he turned the corner of Lakewood, he heard a voice calling his name.  
  
  
“Mathias! Mathias, hi!”   
  
  
He pumped the brakes and turned around. “Oh, hi, Tino! How's it go- oh my god. Oh my god, your dog- it's so cute!” Mathias hopped off his bike, gently laying it on the sidewalk, determined to pet that fluffy little ball of a puppy.  
  
  
“Thanks.” Tino smiled. “Her name is Hanatamago! She's not usually this white-looking- I just gave her a bath and figured it was sunny out, so maybe she'd dry out better if I took her for a walk.” He crouched down. “You like that better than the blow-dryer, don't you, girl?”  
  
  
Mathias scratched behind the happy dog's ears. Tino lifted her up so she could lick Mathias' face.   
  
  
“Hey, why weren't you at school yesterday?” Tino asked. “I can send you the homework for English, it's just reading.”  
  
  
“Eh, I wasn't feeling well. One of those 24-hour flus, I think.” Mathias shrugged.  
  
  
“Oh, okay. So, where are you off to?”  
  
  
“Uh, the library. Gotta do some research.”  
  
  
“Really? We don't have anything to-”  
  
  
“It's for- um, Law.” Mathias said quickly.   
  
  
“You're not in Law.” Tino looked confused.  
  
  
“I'm switching into it- French just isn't working out for me,” he lied.   
  
  
“Oh,” Tino said, sounding disappointed. “Okay. Well, Law could be cool, I guess.”  
  
  
“Yeah... I missed a bunch of assignments, though, so I have to do research...”  
  
  
Tino hesitated. “Hey, do you mind if I tag along? There's a book I wanted to check out.”  
  
  
“Yeah, no problem!” Mathias was sweating a little. “I mean, you can help make sure I don't get lost on the way there.”  
  
  
“Of course!” Tino smiled. “Let's take Maple, so I can drop Hana off.”  
  
  
Mathias walked his bike beside Tino and Hanatamago until they reached Tino's house, where he let the small dog inside.   
  
  
“Do you mind if we walk? I don't have a bike,” Tino asked.  
  
  
Mathias blinked. “Sure.”  
  
  
“You can leave your bike here- oh jeez, I'm being such a nuisance, you could be halfway to the library already if it weren't for me.”  
  
  
“No, it's okay,” Mathias assured the shorter boy. “It's a nice day, I'm not in a rush or anything.”  
  
  
“Oh, good,” Tino sighed in relief.   
  
  
Tino led Mathias down a series of “shortcuts” that would get him downtown- meaning they cut through a lot of backyards and hopped more creeks than Mathias considered entirely necessary. Eventually they ended up downtown.   
  
  
“What's that smell?” Mathias asked, looking around. His stomach was growling.  
  
  
“Ooh, it's nice,” Tino remarked. They followed the scent of french fries and coffee until they found a small, divey-looking diner tucked away in the corner of an intersection.   
  
  
“Wanna grab breakfast?” Mathias gave Tino his best puppy-dog eyes.  
  
  
“But I thought you wanted to-” Tino saw Mathias' pleading expression. “Yeah, okay. I could go for a coffee.”  
  
  
“Yes!” Mathias exclaimed, bouncing his way over the threshold and into the empty restaurant.   
  
  
A tall man in an apron poked his head past the kitchen doors. “Just sit 'nywhere,” he called, “I'll be over in a minute.”  
  
  
Mathias flashed him a thumbs-up. He and Tino chose the cleanest-looking booth and sat down.  
  
  
The tall man came by, handing them a couple of menus. “I'm Lars, I'll be your server this morning. What would you like to drink?”   
  
  
“Coffee, please,” said Tino politely.  
  
  
“Me too,” said Mathias. The waiter had impressively spiked hair- he considered asking him what gel he used.  
  
  
“I'll be right back with that.” Lars strode back off to the kitchen.   
  
  
Mathias tapped his fingers against the table, glancing at the menu. French toast sounded good- wait, they had _stuffed_ French toast? _Oh hell yes._ He looked up when he heard the door creak open. A short boy with shiny blond hair pushed his way through the booth section, sitting down decisively at a small corner table. He opened his leather bookbag and pulled a fancy-looking journal and a pen out of it.  
  
  
Tino followed Mathias' gaze over to the diner's other patron. “Hi, Nikolas!” he said loudly, waving a hand over his head. The other boy froze, then looked up carefully, granting Tino with a small wave back and something that couldn't have passed for a smile in a million years.  
  
  
“Huh. Guess he doesn't want to talk,” Tino shrugged, turning back to Mathias.   
  
  
“Guess not, he looks pretty ... absorbed.” Mathias wasn't sure that was the right word, but the demeanour Nikolas was giving off was a strange one. Not hostile, just... reserved.   
  
  
Two steaming mugs of coffee were placed in front of Tino and Mathias. After Lars took Mathias' order- Tino insisted he was just fine with his coffee- he went over to give a coffee to Nikolas, despite not having taken his order. Mathias figured either Nikolas came here often, or Lars had been able to see the bags under his eyes from the kitchen, which was totally possible. The guy looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Mathias wanted to ask Tino about him, but with them being the only three customers in the diner, he figured that would have to wait. Mathias winced as he watched Tino take a large gulp of his scalding drink, practically feeling his own tongue burn in sympathy. Tino seemed unphased, however, so Mathias emptied a few little cups of creamer into his own coffee without saying anything.  
  
  
Mathias and Tino chit-chatted about school and the mall until Mathias' breakfast was served. He ate it ravenously- he hadn't been too keen on his reheated supper last night, and had only eaten a few bites. Tino continued to babble at the preoccupied Mathias in between sips of his coffee.   
  
  
“-and then Feli told me we were going to get a JCPenney, and I said no way. I mean, can you imagine? We don't even have a Starbucks.”  
  
  
“Mmm,” Mathias nodded, his mouth full. He felt bad for not really listening, but damn, this food was good. Soon he was finished and they had paid, Mathias completely forgetting to ask about their server's hairstyling routine. He stole one last glance back at Nikolas, who was on his third cup of coffee. Mathias didn't know how he'd had the chance to drink them between writing furiously in his journal.   
  
He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something oddly familiar about Nikolas.

 


End file.
